The Thoughts of an Archeologist
by Santoryuu3
Summary: How does Nico Robin feel about the crew... particularly the green-haired swordsman? This short little piece of writing is basically how Robin feels about the adventures of the crew up until Thriller Bark. Slight Zorobin 3


It's not like she loved him.

It's not like she didn't love him.

But, there was definitely something there. She just had to find out what it was.

It was difficult to figure it out. She had not felt this way about anyone before… at least, not truthfully. She'll admit that she had seduced plenty of men in the past to get what she wanted, but it wasn't like she screwed them over or anything. It was always temporary, and all for her own sake.

It started with the incident in Alabasta.

She had been with the man for several years, ever since she was sixteen years old. She knew better than to try to seduce that man, so she changed her personality like she had many times in the past: calm, heartless, negligent of others' feelings. He took the bait, and took her on his sidekick, so to speak.

He gained intel somehow that their target, the blue-haired princess of Alabasta, had joined up with a motley crew of pirates to escort her safely home, and he found this exciting. No, that wasn't the word. Expected? According to plan? After ten years, she still couldn't quite understand him.

She was sent with the eternal pose to send the pirates directly to the sand kingdom. The decoy those foolish pirates had set up for her was almost cute. At least, that's what her current personality thought of it.

The pirates quickly pulled away from Whiskey Peak. That's when she first saw him.

He was standing on the deck of the small ship, near the rams-head mast. She saw him first as she slowly and silently maneuvered herself on deck, out of the detection of the unsuspecting crew. She couldn't see much of him at first, seeing as his back was to her. She had seen men like him before: muscular, with that aura about them that just screamed,_ Kill me if you can. _Their backs were always rigid, flat as a board. The muscles always tense, on guard for an attack. Those men were easy pickings, especially the over-confident ones.

"It's a good think we managed to escape those people chasing us," she said, seating herself on the railing that ran across a small platform on the ship. She crossed her legs at the knee and rested her elbow upon them, nestling her chin in the cup of her hand.

"That's for sure," said the orange-haired woman, without turning around.

"With all the fog," she continued. "We need to be careful and avoid the rocks."

"Leave it to me," the woman said, still looking to the bow of the ship. She paused, then turned to the black-haired boy next to her. "Wait, did you…?"

"Huh?" The boy wearing the straw hat turned to the woman. "No, I didn't say anything."

The orange-haired woman, who she suspected to be the navigator of this crew, turned slowly, her eyes twitching uncontrollably.

She smiled, tapping her pinky finger against her nose. "This ship is nice," she commented.

Soon the whole crew, including the blue-haired princess Vivi Nefertari, had turned suddenly, their eyes resting on the intruder.

She didn't consider herself to be an intruder. She could come and go however she pleased. It wasn't her fault they didn't notice her giant steed mooring itself to the side of the ship.

He turned about last, his right hand gripping the white sheath of a katana with a death hold. With his thumb, he released the blade slightly. She examined each crew member's face individually as they each turned, his being last.

Her current personality stated that she must be lakadasikal at all times. Do not show true emotion. Don't let yourself be caught off guard. Smile to release a tense situation.

So her face remained in that amused smile as her heart suddenly began to beat faster. She could tell her initial observation of him was only partially correct. True, the daring aura was still there, the muscular body was still present and accounted for. But the high eyebrows, forming almost an upside down "v" on his forehead, told her he wasn't the smartest of people. She could often read people like an open book, and she read him like a mystery novel. Desperately wanting to turn to the last chapter to unveil the culprit, but forcing yourself to read it one page at a time. So she forced herself to examine him like the others: white shirt, green waistband, three swords, black pants and boots. A black cloth tied to his right bicep, and short green hair that complimented his color scheme.

"Who's that!" he asked no one in particular, staring up at her. His voice was low and controlled, but there was a confident tone to it that she liked.

"It's you!" the princess was shaking from head to toe. According to her personality, she loved watching her shake from fear. Her pupils shrank to mere dots inside her eyes, the dark blue of her eyes paling dramatically. She chuckled, leaning her head to the side.

"I happened to run into Mr. 8 a short while ago, Miss Wednesday. He didn't look so good."

She smiled inwardly as she saw the realization dawn on the princess's face. "You killed Igaram."

The boy with the straw hat quickly stole her attention. "Hey!" he said, pointing his finger roughly at her. "What are you doing on my ship! Who are you?"

"Answer him!" the princess screamed up at her. "What are you doing here… Miss All-Sunday!"

She smiled, proud of the little brat for remembering her codename.

The orange-haired woman looked over to the princess. "Miss All-Sunday? Who's her partner?"

The princess's voice was sullen. "Her partner is Mr. Zero, the boss of Baroque Works!"

"Crocodile is her partner!" the woman screamed.

"She's a bad guy?" the boy with the straw hat said. Judging by the skull-and-crossbones wearing a straw hat, he must be the captain.

She listened intently as the princess-turned-pirate explained her position in the organization known as Baroque Works. "She was the only one who knows the boss's identity. That's how we found out who he is… by following her!"

"To be accurate," she corrected, still smiling down at the crew. "I allowed you to follow me."

"So she's a good guy, then," the captain concluded.

The princess continued her obnoxious ranting. "I knew you knew I was there! You're the one that told Mr. Zero we discovered his identity, weren't you!"

She chuckled, impressed this stupid woman could deduce such a conclusion. "That's right," she confirmed.

"So she really is bad…" the captain muttered.

The green-haired swordsman stared at his captain, a look of utter confusion on his face. She liked that face. It was cute. "Luffy, would you cut it out all ready?" he muttered.

Monkey D. Luffy. That was his name.

"You still haven't told us what you're doing here!" the princess continued.

She was getting frustrated. If that brat would just pipe down for two seconds, then she might actually learn something, like, oh, why she was on the ship. But, her personality had a strict code, and her face remained momentarily unchanged.

She closed her eyes and dropped her smile as a cover for her frustration "That's right. You were just so serious about the whole thing that I found myself helping out," she lied. "A princess trying her hardest to save her kingdom while making herself an enemy of Baroque Works." She opened her eyes again to see the crew's reactions. "It all seemed so ridiculous"

The faces were worth it. The princess began to swell with rage, sadness, and frustration all at the same time. "You killed him!" she shrieked.

Quite suddenly, a blond-haired man wearing a pinstripe blue shirt and a curiously-shaped eyebrow was pointing a gun to her head on the right. A long-nosed man in brown overalls was aiming… was that a slingshot?... at her on the left. The green-haired swordsman was pulling the katana completely free from the white sheathe. The orange-haired woman had taken a long pole from beneath her shirt.

"Sanji," the long-nosed man addressed the blond. "You do realize what you're doing here… right?"

"Nope," the man called Sanji replied. "Not a clue. I just know that my beloved Miss Wednesday is in need of my assistance."

She was not amused by the crew's foolish antics. Didn't they know none of these weapons they pulled on her would work? All she needed was a flick of the wrist, and the entire population of the ship would be at her mercy. Even, regretfully, the swordsman. But she needed the crew alive, so she mustn't kill them yet. She hoped she wouldn't have to kill them. "I would really appreciate it," she said, closing her eyes once again. "If you wouldn't point such dangerous objects at me."

Two hands suddenly bloomed from the deck, knocking the blond and long-nosed man off balance. To the rest of the crew below her, it appeared as if their crewmates had suddenly been thrown away without a single movement at all. The orange-haired woman backed away and dropped her staff, her face a mask of terror.

"You don't mean…?" the swordsman's face was priceless, staring up at her like that. She really enjoyed it. Not in a cruel way, either, like the way her current personality would have her feel. This was more of an, _are you impressed? _ sort of emotion.

The straw-hat captain was in awe, his mouth forming a perfect "O".

"She's eaten…" the princess gasped.

Faster than he could see, she had already sprouted a limb from his abdomen, slapped the sword from his hand, and evaporated the hand without a trace. The limbs physically connected to her own mortal body could feel whatever her disconnected limbs felt, so she could feel the rough texture of the swordsman's hands; he was a hard-worker, training hard every day to hone his skills.

"A Devil Fruit?" his voice was incredulous.

"Which one? What's her power?" The navigator cried.

The blond man she had sent to the bottom of the deck suddenly stared up at her, his eyes taking on a curious form. Why did it seem as if there were hearts forming inside his pupils? "Wow! Now that I have a closer look, she's a really beautiful lady!"

She chuckled. "There's no need to get so excited. I haven't been given any orders to follow. I have no reason to fight you." She grew a limb behind the back of the straw hat captain and whisked the hat of his head. She caught the hat in her attached hand and twirled it around her finger. "So you're the captain," she said, addressing the black-haired boy. "The one I've heard so much about. Monkey D. Luffy."

The captain was going berserk, throwing his limbs about carelessly an in an undignified manner. "Give me my hat back! You wanna fight or something!"

She grinned and placed the straw hat on top of her own purple cowboy hat. "Bad luck, taking a princess upon your ship, a princess Baroque Works is out to kill… protected by only a mere handful of pirates… " in truth, she could kill the princess right now if she wanted to. An awesome display of her power. But not yet.

She warned the Straw Hat crew of the next island their ship was designated to go to: Little Garden. She shrugged the straw hat back to its original owner and offered them an Eternal Pose to an island just past the Little Garden and near Alabasta known as Nanimonashima., just like she had been ordered. But, as expected, the captain smashed the pose in his hand, declaring loudly that he decides where the ship goes.

The two exchanged glances, his eyes daring her to try anything again. She smiled and bid farewell to the crew, wishing them safe travels through Little Garden. Her gaze roamed over the remaining crewmembers, resting on the swordsman for a little longer than the others, implanting their images in her mind. She lept from the ship and boarded her giant turtle, Bunchi, pulling away from the small ship and disappearing into the fog.

That was the first time she had seen the green-haired swordsman. His face appeared whenever she closed her eyes, and whenever a katana or sword of any kind was mentioned, her thoughts turned to the white sheath from which he drew his blade. She was stunned to see him again in the VIP basement beneath the Raindinners casino several weeks later. The Alabastan turban and robe he wore suited him nicely, even if it didn't quite match with the scheme from their first encounter.

She was stunned to hear of the defeat of Mister One, or as he was previously known as, Daz Bones, a highly-popular assassin in the North Blue. When questioning who had accomplished such a feat, she heard the name _Roronoa Zoro._ Yes, she had heard that name before. He was the legendary three-sword style bounty hunter from the East Blue. The green-haired man came to her head once again, and she recalled that both on the ship and in the cage, three katana rested at his hip.

The betrayal and defeat of Crocodile quickly ensued. She wanted nothing more than to die, but she was forced to live by the wacky Straw Hat captain. The same man who couldn't decide if she was a good guy or a bad guy. It was funny really. The captain of the man she had genuinely taken a liking to was here, risking his life to save his enemy.

She made the decision right then to join his crew. She had nowhere else to return to, no one who would even consider taking her in. Nico Robin, the devil child.

While hiding out inside the cargo hold of the ship, she meditated and changed her personality again. She transitioned from the calm, uncaring, lackadaisical Miss All-Sunday to the cheerful-yet-morbid, intelligent and clever Nico Robin. She still needed to keep her guard up; she knew that after the things she had done, they wouldn't accept her easily.

She waited until the ship had been safely maneuvered from the desert kingdom of Alabasta and out of the clutches of the marines before making her appearance.

"If you wanted her to come with us that badly," a deep voice said. "Then you shouldn't have let her leave." She instantly recognized the voice of the swordsman, and her heart quickened its pace ever so slightly. She took several deep breaths, refusing to let her emotions take a hold of her.

The swordsman and the crew exchanged more banter, mostly consisting of insults toward the swordsman that she didn't quite think he deserved. She watched through the window of the door and waited until the swordsman had turned his back to her before entering the conversation.

"Good thing we got away from the marines," she said, opening the door and stepping into the sunlight.

"Yeah," the swordsman said, rubbing the back of his neck lazily.

She smiled. "Excellent work."

The scene was almost an exact replica of her first introduction to the pirates, minus the princess, of course. Mass panic quickly ensued. The swordsman was pulling out his sword again. The orange-haired navigator held a strange blue tube instead of her staff, but the concept was the same. The blond man who had defeated Mr. Two was staring at her again in a way she didn't quite find all that attractive. The long-nosed man was speaking through a megaphone, alerting the other crew members of what they already knew. The one person, well creature, she didn't recognize from their first encounter was a tiny little reindeer/raccoon-dog creature running back and forth across the deck, holding his hooves to the side of his head, screaming. Only the captain stood completely calm, staring at her as if trying to remember where he'd seen her before.

She could see the swordsman from the corner of her eye as she set up a deck chair near the rear of the ship. He watched her, his eyes squinted nearly shut. His arms were crossed in a way that told her he wasn't going to take his eyes off her for a moment, just in case if she decided to pull something. All the better reason to, maybe, show off just a little bit. Most of her previous personalities would never allow such a thing.

When she declared her desire to become the seventh member of the Straw Hat crew, the faces of all but the swordsman were most entertaining. The others' jaws hit the deck in a mixture of surprise, awe, and in the blond's case, love. However, the green-haired man maintained his suspicious stance, setting himself apart from the rest of the group. Maybe he wasn't quite so stupid after all.

She told the tale of the events below the castle in Alubarna, where the poneglyph was hidden. The crew listened quietly, even Luffy, for he had been unconscious near the end of it. He immediately allowed her to join after she told him of her predicament, having no place to return to.

And, once again, his other members gave him grief about it. Even the swordsman showed emotion now, his grip tightening on his crossed arms. That made her slightly sad. A good sob story like her own, even if it wasn't the whole story, was enough to usually get anyone feeling sorry for her. These guys were tough. Good thing she had brought along some... persuasive ideals.

It didn't take long before the crew had settled down and the long-nosed man was settling down for an interview. She put on a cheerful face and answered his questions truthfully.

"Pay attention!" the long-nosed man demanded. She looked over from where she had been amusing the reindeer and captain with one of her arms. "I want some straight up and honest answers! What's your name? My name's Usopp. Hello."

She answered his question simply. "Nico Robin."

"What's your occupation?"

"Archaeologist."

The sniper seemed interested. "Are you serious?"

"Archaeology runs in my veins. I come from a long line of them." She cast a quick sideways glance toward the swordsman to check for any reaction. None so far, as much as she could see. However, he did seem a bit... perplexed with his crew member's methods of interrogation. Still, his gaze did not waver.

She told her story, of her bounty at only eight years old. Working for rogues, and the like. The sniper and his company listened intently, seemingly surprised at her troubled childhood. Sob story number two. Only the navigator and swordsman were left to woo. Their expressions practically screamed at her, _I don't trust you._

"What's your specialty?" the sniper asked.

She leaned her chin in her hand. "Killing." she said simply. Play the tough-girl card. She wasn't exactly sure how the crew operated, but it was good to put it out there while she had the chance. She had taken lives before, mostly under the orders of Mister Zero or other various rogues. It didn't mean she liked doing it.

The sniper panicked, falling back in his chair. "I have determined this woman is far too dangerous to have in this crew!"

The navigator kicked the side of the ship, her eyes hard as steel. "Seriously. I'm disappointed; you two are pathetic. She was the vice-president of a crime syndicate. And you really think someone like that should join us?" the sniper began to clap his hands, glad he had found a supporter. "You may have fooled these idiots," the woman continued, staring her in the eye. "But I'm not convinced."

She smiled up at the orange-haired navigator. "Alright. I'll keep that in mind." It was time for the trump card of persuasion. "Oh, I just remembered. I took some of Crocodile's gold with me. Thought you might could use it."

The navigator was at her side in an instant, he eyes twinkling at the thought of treasure, or anything shiney for that matter. "Oh wow, sister, you're the best!" she squealed.

"Here we go," the sniper and swordsman said in unison.

The two moved away to speak privately for a moment. She grew an ear to the back of the sniper, listening on the conversation.

"Nami's been had," the sniper muttered.

"This chick's bad news," the swordsman agreed.

The blond man with the strange eyebrow suddenly swooned over her, releasing a ballad from his lips like honey. It was a sweet sentiment, and she was impressed by the true emotion he put into it. He set a cup of steaming tea in front of her. He was the cook. Looks like she wouldn't need to win him over.

"Look at him," the swordsman growled. "Falling all over himself."

"Well," the sniper agreed. "He was a lost cause from the start."

"Looks like you and I are the only holdouts on this ship of insanity," the swordsman said, his voice lowering.

"We shouldn't blame the others. Their simple minds can't resist her charms."

She couldn't agree more.

The captain called out the long-nosed man's name, showing him his imitation of the reindeer, who's name she learned was Chopper. The sniper soon fell into hysterics, laughing alongside his friends. Five down. One to go.

She watched as the green-haired swordsman rolled his eyes and moved away from the rest of the crew, walking up the stairs to the bow of the ship. She had yet to win him over, in more ways than one.

She stood up and followed him to the deck, leaving the cook sighing to himself on the floor.

He was leaned against the railing, staring out over the horizon. The sea wind blew stray hairs of green gently about his face. He watched her suspiciously as she stood close, but not so close as to make him uncomfortable.

"This ship has charm. Is it always this lively?" she asked, turning to face him.

He stared back at her. There was something in his eyes that spoke to her. His guard was still up, but he wasn't on the offensive anymore. He couldn't change his captain's decision any more than she could, and he was accepting that. "Yeah." he said. "Usually is."

She smiled, content with his answer, and turned to face the oncoming horizon.

The adventures following her introduction to the crew grew slowly more intense. With the Straw Hat's slow acceptance of her, one by one, she truly began to feel at home.

She found herself watching the swordsman's progression throughout the many islands of the Grand Line. She still found it all amusing that he still could not remember which way is left or right, the difference between up and north. The small things that made her laugh were the things she latched onto.

When facing the so-called god on the legendary sky island, only she, the swordsman, a Shandorian native, the navigator, and the ex-god had managed to make it to the final round. The ex-god refused the so-called god's proposal to join him in his journey to the Endless Vearth, and was quickly dealt with.

She was attacked by the user of the Rumble Rumble fruit, for observing the whereabouts of the golden bell. Several million volts of electricity shot through brain, turning all her nerves into receptors of lava. She screamed and fell to her knees, her mind slowly fading into unconsciousness.

She had just enough time to feel her blackened skin rest on the warm forearm of her green-haired companion. Her eyes opened slightly, just barely peering through her lashes up into his face. It was unreadable, a complete mask of darkening fury. That was the last sight before the darkness closed in on her vision.

She regained consciousness just as her captain reached her. She warned him and the small child he brought with him of the god's plan, and they took off in search of him and the navigator.

She sat up slowly, looking around her. The former god still lay where he had fallen, his skin still blackened from his electrocution. The tiny doctor lay unmoving. A large crater sat a few feet away, and when she looked down into it, she saw the Shandorian lying at the bottom, seemingly dead. She looked up again, searching for the swordsman.

There! Hey lay a few yards away, spread-eagled on the ground, his katana lying next to him. He was unconscious, but she could still see the tell tale signs of breathing, reassuring her that he was not dead.

She didn't have enough strength to do much, but she had to at least move them to a safer place. She leaned heavily against a mossy wall and looked up at the cloudy sky. The next level of clouds should be good enough.

Once she gained enough strength, she sprouted feet from the backs of her fallen comrades and walked them up to the next blanket of clouds surrounding the giant beanstalk that grew through the center of it.

She took great care of the swordsman, checking every foothold to make sure no harm would come to his already wounded body. She carried the doctor in the crook of one of her arms, and the shandorian she just let him go on without really monitoring him.

She lay the three wounded men gently into the soft clouds and awaited the destruction of the giant flying ship.

Her captain pulled through, defeating the evil so-called god and discovering the magnificent golden bell of Shandora. She and the others slowly healed, and made their way slowly back down to the Blue Sea.

And then, the Admiral appeared. He said he was only out for a walk. She didn't believe him for a second. He was the man who accompanied the annihilation of Ohara, her beloved home island. Though, she supposed, he did allow her to escape, for reasons she still didn't understand. Then, after twenty years, she met that man again, and this time, he did not allow her to escape.

He formed his Ice Sabre from frozen particles of grass. She recognized it; she had seen him use it before. She raised her hands in her traditional cross over her chest, preparing for a counterattack. She closed her eyes, half to concentrate, and the rest not to see the blow that would befall her. Instead of intense pain, she only heard the sound of metal clashing against frozen ice, and there was really only one person who used steel.

She opened her eyes, finding the swordsman standing before her, one of his katana blocking the Admiral's strike. The green-haired man stared up at the marine. His back was to her, so she couldn't see the expression in his eyes, but she could tell by the tension in his shoulder blades he was livid.

His lead was followed soon by cook-san, who quickly disarmed the marine, and her captain, who gave him a mighty punch to the stomach. she knew it wouldn't work. His Ice Ice power was too strong. She had witnessed it first hand. The vision of her giant friend slowly transforming into an ice statue still haunted her at night.

She watched in horror as the cook's knee, captain's hand, and swordsman's shoulder were all frozen solid. It was all her fault. She only wanted to sink to the ground, curl up in a ball and simply die, to lay in that one spot for all eternity. She knew from the start her past would come back to haunt her, and at the time when she joined the crew, she didn't think much of it. Only now, after their grand adventures in the Sky Islands and Davy Back Fight and all the other did she finally realize that these people were not like the others. Sure, they didn't know any more about her past than she did theirs, but she still felt this deep connection to all of them. And now, because of her slip up, they would all be killed. It was her own fault.

The image came back to her again as the Admiral embraced her. She could feel her joints seizing up, her blood turning solid in her veins. Her body temperature dropped dangerously low. This was what he must have felt, twenty years ago on the now nonexistent island of Ohara. The pain was terrifying. Her brain shut down as the cold slowly overcame her, and she knew no more.

Mr. Doctor proved his merit once again, defrosting her and captain-san, who had apparently gone up against the Admiral and succumbed to the same fate as she. As she lay quiet in her bed shortly after regaining consciousness, the only thing that came to her mind was how humiliating it was to have to be saved by the swordsman, cook, and captain. She was only a crew member. It didn't really matter what happened to her; she was replaceable. Dispensable.

She surrendered to CP9 only on that one condition: that the remaining Straw Hats be allowed full pardon. The marines, of course, agreed. Captain-san was only a man of one hundred million. Although he was a rising threat, as too the swordsman, the huge ego of the World Government assumed they could keep him under control. Never in her wildest dreams did she believe captain-san would actually infiltrate Enies Lobby to come after her.

The terrible imprisonment at Enies Lobby and watching the crew members reach the roof of the drawbridge building filled her heart with sadness. The first person that came to mind was the swordsman, of course. He was the last one to really accept her, but she had grown fond of him, and she was sure he at least noticed her. It was a horrible, horrible fate they were submitting themselves to. Why couldn't they see that?

First the orange-haired navigator and burly doctor emerged from somewhere below the roof. Then the swordsman, climbing from the hole his crew mates had just emerged from. The blond cook followed in suit, forcing his way to the top. He was accompanied by the long-nosed sniper flying up from behind the building. One by one, they all appeared, one by one to save her.

She didn't need saving. She only wanted to die. That was her destiny. She was the devil's child, shunned all her life only for being a survivor of the infamous island, the inhabitants of which tried to research the forbidden history. It was a painful twenty years: hunted by the government, finding no place to live for fear of betrayal, scavenging for food. Working for various rogues wasn't the ideal solution, she supposed, but it did lead her to her…

Nakama. Friends. Those who will protect her. They would stay with her, through all the hardships. They would protect her with their very lives. They didn't care of her past. They didn't care who she was, what the World Government labeled her as. To them, she was who she was, and they didn't care about anything else.

I WANT TO LIVE!

The words ripped themselves from her throat, raining down on the six figures below.

TAKE ME OUT TO SEA WITH YOU!

The captain smiled. The navigator nodded. The sniper sniffed. The cook lit a cigarette. The doctor snorted. The swordsman adjusted his three katana.

It was a terrible pain, to watch them fight for her. She could almost see the battles playing out in her mind as the evil, laughing man forced her up and up stair after stair. Several times she tried to break free, and each time ended in great defeat. She managed to buy time by biting the edge of the thick bridge that led to the Gate.

It was painful. A terrible pain. No, the blows that fell upon her body were nothing. There was no pain there. The pain lay in knowing her nakama were down there. She wanted to go to them, to be with them, to become a Straw Hat. No, not become one. She was already a Straw Hat pirate. Her way of thinking must come to an end. She must believe in Luffy, in Zoro, Nami, Sanji, Usopp, Chopper, and the shipwright who assisted them.

TO THE SEA!

To the one final nakama they had left. The beautiful Going Merry, steered without a navigator, commanded without a captain, who came to rescue her nakama, just as she had been saved by hers.

The defeat of the warlord and his zombie army was rejuvenating. Having her shadow removed from her body was like having a part of her very soul taken from her. Being burnt into a crisp by the morning sunlight wasn't all that hot, either. Thankfully, her shadow returned, and she felt whole again. Then the appearance of the second warlord proved too great, and the released shockwave of his attack wiped out the entire island.

She listened in on the cook's conversation with the two members of the other pirate crew who had been imprisoned on the island without their shadows.

They talked of the swordsman's heroic actions toward saving his captain, the same captain who was currently dancing to the skeletal musician's joyful music. It pained her to hear of his ordeal of hell, as the bear-like warlord had so kindly put it. But he was alive, and that was all that mattered, yes?

She can only imagine what the future holds in store.


End file.
